2022 X PLAID - Poor Range Performance Help: Getting 50 - 77% of EPA 311 miles

[akahitek]

I have driven about 4,000 miles so far on new my X PLAID. My question is around expected range and what other same year and model owners are experiencing. I have not been able to achieve better than 77% of EPA and am generally getting around 50-65% with normal driving, even in Chill mode.


With my concerns, I spoke with Tesla and arranged a test to do my best to replicate ideal conditions, with the promise that they would gather a full report on the back end and do deeper analysis – they never delivered on that promise.


Here’s the test: I Drove 312 miles – outside temp was between 69 to 75 degrees. Some minor uphill/downhill – 90% flat.


Settings: Cabin AC: 72 degrees, Chill Mode, Sentry off, overheat protection off, radio off. Started non-stop travel with 95% charge.


Driving style: I drove 180 miles non-stop, didn’t go faster than 65mph (I was vigilant and set the limit to 65), and was extremely gingerly with the pedal – didn’t pass, focused on regen braking and I averaged about 55mph the whole trip. Remember, this was a test to find-out what my best-case scenario could be for range. It was painful!


Outcome: I was able to make the first leg of my trip, driving a total of 180 miles to a supercharger with 25% range left, with an average wh/mi of 331.


Doing the (rough) math, add another 60 miles to makeup for the last 30% of battery, and that nets me a 100% battery range of 240 miles. Best case scenario – I can achieve 77% of the EPA range of 311 miles.


Observations: I presume that this the most optimistic view of what my car is capable of from a range perspective and the best I have ever been able to achieve with a significant delta. I am generally only able to make it about 130 miles before I have to charge under daily driving conditions, 90% to 25% or so. Some Plaid, some chill mode, no launches, or aggressive driving.


Expectations: I have done plenty of research since my concern first appeared and understand conditions are so much of a factor in overall range performance, and I am curious to know if my battery performance is different than other same model and year Tesla’s and am hoping for some feedback from the community. I don’t have much data on other 2022 X PLAIDs, but looking across the rest of the 2022 line, EPA achievement tests show at minimum, 90% + of EPA range, doing 75mph tests. There wasn’t any 3rd party test data on the 2022 X – curious…


I spoke with Tesla service on numerous occasions, and they say they deal with range complaints all the time, but haven’t shown me any relative data to prove this is normal. They also haven’t been able to produce reports when I request them for specific driving periods (like the 312 mile road trip that was coordinated between me and Tesla service prior with the expectation they would send a report), and when they do produce a report, they look through the past two weeks of recorded data and find the conditions that support their case the most, insisting that this is normal battery performance.


Question for my fellow 2022 X Plaid owners: What’s the best range you have been able to achieve on a charge?


Question for all: Do you think I have a range issue, or is this normal? And if this is normal, shouldn’t there be better education for first time Tesla buyers around range reality vs. as advertised?

 

[jjrandorin]

Its not specific to "Model X plaid" but I have a 260+ Page (260 pages of posts, not 260 posts) thread on basically the exact same complaint, so I can tell you that I am virtually positive your car is "normal", and tesla will do nothing (zip) about any sort of "range" complaint as far as "I can only go X far on a charge".

Range Loss Over Time, What Can Be Expected, Efficiency, How to Maintain Battery Health

i bought my model 3 in aug 2018. After the software upgrade I only got 316 miles when charged to 100%. Last night I got only 312 miles from 5% SOC to 100%. A 4% degradation within 10 months? Have others degraded similarly?

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[GtiMart]

Note that chill mode does nothing that you cannot do with your right foot, and you seem to be doing that already.

Speed is a huge factor but you've controlled that already. Wind and hills are important too, you said relatively flat but you didn't specify the wind.

Next would be wheels/tires. If you have the 22" wheels on the plaid, that probably doesn't help, and they are probably wrapped in pretty sticky rubber. You might want to check tire pressure. Smaller wheels with less sticky tires would help, but then you wouldn't be able to put down 1000+hp reliably.

As a reference, in my AWD model 3 on 18" but with performance tires i only get 80% of EPA in summer. I drive over the limit on the highway but even in the city, I never get EPA.

Note that EPA testing is at 55mph and less so even going 65mph will clearly end up higher than EPA.

 

[akahitek]

Its not specific to "Model X plaid" but I have a 260+ Page (260 pages of posts, not 260 posts) thread on basically the exact same complaint, so I can tell you that I am virtually positive your car is "normal", and tesla will do nothing (zip) about any sort of "range" complaint as far as "I can only go X far on a charge".

Range Loss Over Time, What Can Be Expected, Efficiency, How to Maintain Battery Health

i bought my model 3 in aug 2018. After the software upgrade I only got 316 miles when charged to 100%. Last night I got only 312 miles from 5% SOC to 100%. A 4% degradation within 10 months? Have others degraded similarly?

teslamotorsclub.com

Thanks - Am still hoping for 22' XP owners to feed my hunger for comparisons.

My experience with Tesla service so far is that they take an authoritarian approach "I don't have to explain anything to you,other than it's normal, go away" - I had another issue repaired and they gave me a 17' 100D loaner with high mileage - that got longer range than my new 22' XP. I can't wait for my range performance in 4 years. Hopefully I'll be able to make it to the grocery store without charging in the parking lot to be able to make it back home.

 

[AndrewZ]

I think appropriate driver education would just be advertising a more realistic range from the start and keeping expectations reasonable, but Tesla made a marketing decision surely understanding it would risk buyers feeling they've been overpromised and underdelivered.

 

[GtiMart]

Completely separate discussion. Every manufacturer shows EPA testing values, or at least most of them AFAIK.

 

[akahitek]

Note that chill mode does nothing that you cannot do with your right foot, and you seem to be doing that already.

Speed is a huge factor but you've controlled that already. Wind and hills are important too, you said relatively flat but you didn't specify the wind.

Next would be wheels/tires. If you have the 22" wheels on the plaid, that probably doesn't help, and they are probably wrapped in pretty sticky rubber. You might want to check tire pressure. Smaller wheels with less sticky tires would help, but then you wouldn't be able to put down 1000+hp reliably.

As a reference, in my AWD model 3 on 18" but with performance tires i only get 80% of EPA in summer. I drive over the limit on the highway but even in the city, I never get EPA.

Note that EPA testing is at 55mph and less so even going 65mph will clearly end up higher than EPA.

Thanks - Appreciate the reply - and I know the X is a heavy ass car - it shows when you try to brake at 135mph - in a tragically comedic sort of way.

The problem is that when I drive "normally" which isn't 135mph to disclaim the reference above, I am getting roughly 55 - 65% of EPA. Frustrating...

 

[AndrewZ]

Completely separate discussion. Every manufacturer shows EPA testing values, or at least most of them AFAIK.

The marketing choice exists in how the manufacturer decides to run the tests and what adjustment factors are applied, either through those tests or through voluntary adjustments down to account for expected driving behaviors.

IMO it seems odd to think that manufacturers who knowingly advertise optimistic numbers and refrain from adjusting them to suit reality should then educate drivers about how the numbers don't reflect reality when they could just change the unrealistic numbers, but maybe I'm off base here

 

[Les236]

I don't have a Plaid, but my MX was rated at 298. I never get that either, but I do a lot of highway trips, and keep a lot of records. You definitely seem a little low. Also, my average energy usage is 330-350. I have not seen much difference with range mode on or off but it does help in hot climates as it limits the A/C. Radio won't affect range, and I think I too keep my climate about 72. I think the most I ever got out of a charge was 225 miles, at a pace of about 80mph averaging 70 mph averaging going from 99% down to 13%. I found another trip where I went 232 miles, from 100% to 10%. That one I only averaged 65mph, but would have been doing 75-80 when traffic permitted. I just always chocked it up to not driving 55-60 mph as during their tests. I do get way better range when roads are 55 and below, over the 298 range.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Try using "Range Mode". Also, I am getting much more range from my "2017" 100D at 75MPH then you are at 65MPH because I am running 19" Slipstream wheels from a Model S with 245X55x19 Michelin Defenders. A plaid running 22" wheels and tires is not going to give you good range no matter what you do.

 

[seenhear]

Settings: Cabin AC: 72 degrees, Chill Mode, Sentry off, overheat protection off, radio off. Started non-stop travel with 95% charge.


Driving style: I drove 180 miles non-stop, didn’t go faster than 65mph (I was vigilant and set the limit to 65), and was extremely gingerly with the pedal – didn’t pass, focused on regen braking and I averaged about 55mph the whole trip. Remember, this was a test to find-out what my best-case scenario could be for range. It was painful!


Outcome: I was able to make the first leg of my trip, driving a total of 180 miles to a supercharger with 25% range left, with an average wh/mi of 331.


Doing the (rough) math, add another 60 miles to makeup for the last 30% of battery, and that nets me a 100% battery range of 240 miles. Best case scenario – I can achieve 77% of the EPA range of 311 miles.


Observations: I presume that this the most optimistic view of what my car is capable of from a range perspective and the best I have ever been able to achieve with a significant delta. I am generally only able to make it about 130 miles before I have to charge under daily driving conditions, 90% to 25% or so. Some Plaid, some chill mode, no launches, or aggressive driving.

Just checking your math there...
95% - 25% = 70% battery used to go 180mi. 180/0.70 = 257mi expected for the full 100%. That's 257/311 = 82.7% of expected range. Still not great, but not as bad. Well, kind of terrible for a brand new Tesla though.

The most concerning math though, is this: 100% range of 257mi * 331 Wh/mi (your reported avg consumption) = 85kW battery size. This does not sound correct for a PLAID X.

Something is definitely amiss here.
85/.827 = 103kW expected battery size. Is this correct for the X Plaid?

A quick google search shows that the S-plaid battery pack is ~99kWh capacity with ~95kWh usable. All I could find for the X-plaid is 100kWh and 95kWh usable. So it's probably the same battery pack for both X and S plaids.

With an EPA range of 311mi and a usable capacity of 95kWh, the EPA tests yielded an efficiency of 305.5 Wh/mi. Comparing that to your reported 331Wh/mi implies you should be seeing about 92.3% of expected range, not 82.7%.

Again, something is amiss, IMO.

I think I read recently that we can now get a battery health report through the mobile app. IIRC you go into service and request battery service, and they will run a diagnostic remotely.
Sounds crazy but I wonder if they either A) built your car with the wrong size battery, or B) imposed a software limit on the battery for some reason. Was the car a demonstration vehicle before you bought it (my S was)?

EDIT: many are pointing out the wheels & tires. Unless OP is using something different than stock for a plaid X, then the EPA numbers should be from tests with the same wheels. OP is off by a SIGNIFICANT margin, even accounting for his 331Wh/mi efficiency. Driving speed will make up the difference.

OP - was your 180mi test 90 mi out and 90 mi back on the exact same route? If not wind and hills will be a factor (wind still could be).

 

[DCGOO]

I have driven about 4,000 miles so far on new my X PLAID. My question is around expected range and what other same year and model owners are experiencing. I have not been able to achieve better than 77% of EPA and am generally getting around 50-65% with normal driving, even in Chill mode.
With my concerns, I spoke with Tesla and arranged a test to do my best to replicate ideal conditions, with the promise that they would gather a full report on the back end and do deeper analysis – they never delivered on that promise.

Have you ever had the wheel alignment checked or set? I was experiencing similar frustrations with my LR. I had Tesla perform an alignment check and set if necessary. They found one front wheel with incorrect caster. The service advisor didn't think I would notice much of a difference, but it was huge. Now I am usually in the mid 200s Wh/mile. The only time I break 300 is with a continuous run at 80 Mph, then getting 310-330 depending on winds.

Only downside is I had to pay for it. It should have been warranty IMO. Tesla does not align vehicles as they come out of the factory. But even if there is no obvious sign of misalignment i.e. drives straight, steering yoke neutral, I would have the alignment checked.

If you have 22-inch wheels, you will not get similar results. There are no 22-inch low rolling resistance tires AFAIK.

 

[gaswalla]

as an owner of an older year X... I can confirm that the 22's look amazing and kill the range. Until OP refutes this, he has 22's and all "is within spec"

 

[DCGOO]

Have you ever had the wheel alignment checked or set? I was experiencing similar frustrations with my LR. I had Tesla perform an alignment check and set if necessary. They found one front wheel with incorrect caster. The service advisor didn't think I would notice much of a difference, but it was huge. Now I am usually in the mid 200s Wh/mile. The only time I break 300 is with a continuous run at 80 Mph, then getting 310-330 depending on winds.

Only downside is I had to pay for it. It should have been warranty IMO. Tesla does not align vehicles as they come out of the factory. But even if there is no obvious sign of misalignment i.e. drives straight, steering yoke neutral, I would have the alignment checked.

If you have 22-inch wheels, you will not get similar results. There are no 22-inch low rolling resistance tires AFAIK.

This is what I am seeing after the alignment. The Sep-1 number includes roughly 60 miles @80 Mph

 

[GtiMart]

OP, battery performance isn't the right way to express this by the way. A battery contains energy, consumption depends on what draws energy from it, not the battery itself. Warranty on capacity is 70%, they don't talk to you before that.

 

[akahitek]

The marketing choice exists in how the manufacturer decides to run the tests and what adjustment factors are applied, either through those tests or through voluntary adjustments down to account for expected driving behaviors.

IMO it seems odd to think that manufacturers who knowingly advertise optimistic numbers and refrain from adjusting them to suit reality should then educate drivers about how the numbers don't reflect reality when they could just change the unrealistic numbers, but maybe I'm off base here

I wonder how much it costs Tesla to service all the range complaints. Probly no ROI in changing their approach. I wouldn't have purchased the car, had I known I couldn't drive 150 miles before having to stop for 40 minutes to supercharge. Oh how

Try using "Range Mode". Also, I am getting much more range from my "2017" 100D at 75MPH then you are at 65MPH because I am running 19" Slipstream wheels from a Model S with 245X55x19 Michelin Defenders. A plaid running 22" wheels and tires is not going to give you good range no matter what you do.

Just checking your math there...
95% - 25% = 70% battery used to go 180mi. 180/0.70 = 257mi expected for the full 100%. That's 257/311 = 82.7% of expected range. Still not great, but not as bad. Well, kind of terrible for a brand new Tesla though.

The most concerning math though, is this: 100% range of 257mi * 331 Wh/mi (your reported avg consumption) = 85kW battery size. This does not sound correct for a PLAID X.

Something is definitely amiss here.
85/.827 = 103kW expected battery size. Is this correct for the X Plaid?

A quick google search shows that the S-plaid battery pack is ~99kWh capacity with ~95kWh usable. All I could find for the X-plaid is 100kWh and 95kWh usable. So it's probably the same battery pack for both X and S plaids.

With an EPA range of 311mi and a usable capacity of 95kWh, the EPA tests yielded an efficiency of 305.5 Wh/mi. Comparing that to your reported 331Wh/mi implies you should be seeing about 92.3% of expected range, not 82.7%.

Again, something is amiss, IMO.

I think I read recently that we can now get a battery health report through the mobile app. IIRC you go into service and request battery service, and they will run a diagnostic remotely.
Sounds crazy but I wonder if they either A) built your car with the wrong size battery, or B) imposed a software limit on the battery for some reason. Was the car a demonstration vehicle before you bought it (my S was)?

EDIT: many are pointing out the wheels & tires. Unless OP is using something different than stock for a plaid X, then the EPA numbers should be from tests with the same wheels. OP is off by a SIGNIFICANT margin, even accounting for his 331Wh/mi efficiency. Driving speed will make up the difference.

OP - was your 180mi test 90 mi out and 90 mi back on the exact same route? If not wind and hills will be a factor (wind still could be).

Thanks for the time in going through that brotha! And thanks for the math check -My math was bad there, but, Ifrom what understand the battery tends to drain faster at the higher and lower end of the charge range, so it's not an exact science in coming to a final assumption, without fully draining it.

It was not a demo vehicle and unfortunately, Tesla removed the range mode and the energy app in the 22 XP - Also curious...

Just checking your math there...
95% - 25% = 70% battery used to go 180mi. 180/0.70 = 257mi expected for the full 100%. That's 257/311 = 82.7% of expected range. Still not great, but not as bad. Well, kind of terrible for a brand new Tesla though.

The most concerning math though, is this: 100% range of 257mi * 331 Wh/mi (your reported avg consumption) = 85kW battery size. This does not sound correct for a PLAID X.

Something is definitely amiss here.
85/.827 = 103kW expected battery size. Is this correct for the X Plaid?

A quick google search shows that the S-plaid battery pack is ~99kWh capacity with ~95kWh usable. All I could find for the X-plaid is 100kWh and 95kWh usable. So it's probably the same battery pack for both X and S plaids.

With an EPA range of 311mi and a usable capacity of 95kWh, the EPA tests yielded an efficiency of 305.5 Wh/mi. Comparing that to your reported 331Wh/mi implies you should be seeing about 92.3% of expected range, not 82.7%.

Again, something is amiss, IMO.

I think I read recently that we can now get a battery health report through the mobile app. IIRC you go into service and request battery service, and they will run a diagnostic remotely.
Sounds crazy but I wonder if they either A) built your car with the wrong size battery, or B) imposed a software limit on the battery for some reason. Was the car a demonstration vehicle before you bought it (my S was)?

EDIT: many are pointing out the wheels & tires. Unless OP is using something different than stock for a plaid X, then the EPA numbers should be from tests with the same wheels. OP is off by a SIGNIFICANT margin, even accounting for his 331Wh/mi efficiency. Driving speed will make up the difference.

OP - was your 180mi test 90 mi out and 90 mi back on the exact same route? If not wind and hills will be a factor (wind still could be).

Thanks for the time in going through that brotha! And thanks for correcting my math, I'll update in the OP - but, Ifrom what I understand the battery tends to drain faster at the higher and lower end of the charge range, so it's not an exact science in coming to a final assumption, without fully draining it to find out.

It was not a demo vehicle and unfortunately, Tesla removed the range mode and the energy app in the 22 XP - Also curious... I can only see percentage and only on map routed trips, can I see range.

The 180 miles was one way - probably about 15 miles of slight uphill and another 15 miles of slight downhill, the rest was pretty flat.

Regarding wheel size, i'm running factory 22", so the EPA guidance takes that into account, as you mentioned. Everything seems balanced and pressured to factory spec.

Thanks again!

 

[DCGOO]

It was not a demo vehicle and unfortunately, Tesla removed the range mode and the energy app in the 22 XP - Also curious... I can only see percentage and only on map routed trips, can I see range.

You also can see statistics in the trip odometer. Energy consumed and Wh/mile calculated.

 

[Bigriver]

@akahitek, 5 years ago when I got my model X I too went though a stage of disillusionment, especially regarding the range. So I always empathize with new owners over this issue.

For me, part of the answer was to get Teslafi, a 3rd party tracking data tracking. It keeps info on every drive, how much of the battery was used, how many miles I drove, elevation change, how fast I was going, tire pressure, etc. As an example, here was the Teslafi info from my 359 miles of driving today.

I don’t look at this nearly as much as I used to, but it has helped me understand my car better. Of course there are always some drives I can’t explain the particularly good or bad efficiency, but sometimes I see there was a stronger wind than I realized, for example, or there was more of a net elevation change than I would have guessed. I have also found that having the tire pressure a bit higher than recommended can improve the efficiency. A/C makes almost no difference (I had it cranked today) but the heater in winter makes a huge difference.

 

[Bigriver]

I wouldn't have purchased the car, had I known I couldn't drive 150 miles before having to stop for 40 minutes to supercharge.

I forgot I also wanted to comment on this. It sounds like you were charging it back up to 90% or more? That is indeed going to take a long time. Trips in the Tesla are really more efficient time wise if you are using the bottom part of the battery and charge only as much as you need to get to the next SC. On my 359 mile trip today, I made 2 SC stops: one for 18 min (22% to 54%) and one for 26 min (22% to 69%). The plaid X will charge much faster than mine does. There shouldn’t be many situations that require a 40 min supercharging session.

 

[TezlaBoaterClb]

I had a similar experience to OP with my 2019 Model 3, and I just picked up a 2022 Model X, hoping things have improved, and NOPE! Sad. The range is basically a major lie in most situations.

The car should be calculating the actual energy usage and adjust the range to something more accurate based on recent wh/mi, weather, etc, it can easily do that, but it doesn’t show u that it shows EPA for some bullshit teasing reason!

I live in Detroit and any weather below 60 degrees, let all below 20, you will experience even less range!! Most people I know with Tesla’s assume 55% range in the winter (fall and spring too). It’s extremely rare I can get more than 75% for a short stretch in nice weather.

As long as u don’t plan to daily drive more than 175 miles, just stop worrying about it and stop paying attention to it. It will just frustrate u and piss u off. Tesla told me it was normal on my Model 3 lol, I’m not bothering complaining to them with the Model X…

BUT I do tell everyone that there is only one thing I can complain about about the cars, and they will never tell u this before u buy it, the range is u get is not even close to the advertised range in 99% of situations!